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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25923655">A Need to Sleep</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetAshori/pseuds/SweetAshori'>SweetAshori</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>SenHaku Week 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Budding Love, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Out of Character, SenHaku Week, Senhaku, Tension</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:07:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,532</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25923655</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetAshori/pseuds/SweetAshori</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Fever. Senku begins to fall back into old habits, much to Kohaku's dismay. Frustrated and worried that he'll fall sick again, she confronts him about it, leading to actions that Senku isn't sure that he entirely dislikes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ishigami Senkuu &amp; Kohaku, Ishigami Senkuu/Kohaku</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>SenHaku Week 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878493</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Need to Sleep</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Dr. STONE. I just really like writing about it, though.</p>
<p>Authoress' Note: Another fic for SenHaku Week! This one is connected to one of my previous stories, Fever. I do recommend reading that fic before this one – and thank you if you do! Please enjoy!</p>
<p>Prompt 3: Cuddles</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kohaku was mildly annoyed. She didn't show or verbalize it, so she seemed normal to any one that glanced upon her, but she was mildly annoyed.</p>
<p>The reason? Senku was refusing to go to sleep.</p>
<p>Now, to most people, this wouldn't be of any concern. Senku was his own person. If he wanted to pull an all-nighter or two, that was his choice. The darkness didn't automatically mean that everyone had to shut down and go to sleep. There was several activities that could continue into the pitch-black of the night if one chose to pursuit it. Not to mention, for those members of the Kingdom of Science who have spent much time around their beloved leader, Senku pulling all-nighters occasionally wasn't beyond the realm of possibilities, and usually never registered as anything odd or something to worry about.</p>
<p>However, for Kohaku, they now do. This was all because of one incident quite a time back, in which Senku pulled several all-nighters in a row, and eventually collapsed with a fever due to the exhaustion and stress he put himself under. That moment terrified the hell out of the huntress, reminding her of a time as a child when her beloved sister Ruri came down with a similar malady, one that made her fear the death of her sibling, and then the death of him as well. Ever since that day, Kohaku found herself often turning an eye towards him at night, wanting to make sure that, before she would head off to sleep herself, he was taking the steps to rest as well. She couldn't, of course, know for sure if he would stay asleep after she would nod off for the night, but she would feel confident enough to rest once she knew he had attempted to do so as well.</p>
<p>The bout of fever made her feel more protective and slightly paranoid over him, although she was afraid admit to it, lest she be teased or pushed away because of a concern of her falling for him for real. The last thing she wanted was that, for Senku to become any level of disgust with her for her “illogical” feelings. She did care for him – a little more than the level of friends that they were, she privately admitted – but she knew him too well: any sort of romance and love is off the table, and for sure she would not risk what they had now by sharing her fears over a relapse.</p>
<p>Of course, she didn't know that the fever incident changed something within him too. For the first time that Senku could remember – outside of petrifcation, of course – he was completely incapacitated, unable to do anything for himself and could barely communicate his conditions to the others. Kohaku was the one to take charge of the entire crew, commanding with the ferocity and power of a lioness, living up to the nickname he had given her. Everyone listened to her – whether it was because they all trusted her due to her firm command or out of fear that she would pummel them if they didn't listen, he didn't know – and all did their parts without question or complaint, all wanting to do their part to save their friend and leader. He hated all of the attention and poking and prodding, but he couldn't fight it, and so he had to deal with it.</p>
<p>Kohaku didn't leave his side during all of this, and it was the first time he really took notice of her. She was already special to him, having been the first human he's met after breaking from the stone that was not from his time and the one that brought him to the village in the first place. However, in his moment of weakness, he witnessed expressions and actions that he hadn't seen from her before, and it struck him in the most confusing of ways. The way she spoke to him, how she would wipe away the sweat from his face, how she fought to keep herself from breaking down out of her own fears, how she smiled at him... he had never imagined seeing her in such a light, and he found himself strangely clinging to that. He didn't want her to leave his side, not even for a second, and the moment she tried, he reached out to her desperately, trying to communicate to her in any way he could to make her stay. And she would, holding his hand as tight as she could, promising that everything would be okay. Those words, that promise, brought more comfort to him than he would ever admit to.</p>
<p>That was only the start, however. Gen, being the other that stayed by his side as assistant to Kohaku, was quick to realize this little spark in him, teasing him in the ways he always does by bringing up how “nice” it was that Kohaku was taking care of him. Of course, the scientist brushed it off, not wanting to give the mentalist the satisfaction of being right, although both of them knew the flustering was just a front. As he first tried to sleep, he could feel Kohaku attempting to move away – he knew that she wasn't leaving, of course – but he stopped her, having already let go of her hand once and missing that feeling more than he could've ever thought, not wanting that feeling to go away again, telling her to not let him go. Then came the dream, as he was surrounded by a world on fire and the one to save him, the one to pull him from the despair, was her. He couldn't see her entirely in that dreamscape, obscured by light, but he knew with absolute certainty that it was her.</p>
<p>Then finally, it was that uncomfortable feeling in his gut when he finally awoke come the morning, feeling a lot more refreshed and the fever entirely gone, seeing the sleeping beauty laying her head upon Gen's lap, her arm outstretched with her hand still holding onto to his. Her laying upon the mentalist's lap was a bit irritating to his eyes but was overall harmless, but what bothered him more was the way Gen spoke about her, the way he smiled at her, the way he brushed her bangs from her face as she slept, all the while telling Senku how lucky he was. He looked at her in a similar way that she looked at Senku, and that churned his stomach. He <i>hated</i> the idea of another person – another man – looking at Kohaku as if they were enamored with the huntress. He <i>hated</i> the idea of Kohaku potentially looking at any other man in the same way she looked at him, spoke to them the same way she did, held their hands the same way she did. That was the major sign that he – despite all of his discussion of love being illogical and detrimental to science, despite all of his disgust at the idea of romance – had changing feelings towards the lioness. It was because of this that he expressed his gratefulness to her – for more than just her unwavering care of him during his collapse – holding her hand with purposeful intent, and why he pulled at her to sleep next to him as they both attempted to catch up on rest that they needed, once again reaching out to hold her hand within his own. He cared for her beyond the mere ideals of friendship and allies, but since that morning, he never expressed it to her or anyone.</p>
<p>Things went back to how they normally were: he with his science, she with her blades, working in tandem with everyone else to break all of humanity out of the stone statues and return two billion years of science and discoveries to the world as it was.</p>
<p>“You're not going to pull another one, are you?”</p>
<p>Senku quirked a brow at the question, turning away from his work spread out over the floor of the observatory to meet the sea-green gaze meeting him from her seat closest to one of the walls. Even in the dimness of the candlelight, he could see the irritation forming in her pools, now that she had posed the question. Dropping the charcoal utensil he was using, he turned his body entirely around to face her, sitting with one knee bent in and upward and arm resting the crook between it and his torso, his other arm resting limply over his other knee, also bent but aligned the hard floor.</p>
<p>“Pull another what?”</p>
<p>Kohaku was sitting with her legs folded in, her arms around her knees, hands loosely wrapped around one another, chin against her knees. As he moved to talked to her, she moved as well, lowering her legs to fold to her left side, leaning back to sit up more straight against the wall, her arms crossing over her chest, her lips turned into a frown. “Another all-nighter,” she replied, that mild annoyance etched in her tone.</p>
<p>They sat in silence for a few moments, their gazes still upon one another. Senku scoffed, a small tilt of his head towards his right, “Possibly. Why do you ask?”</p>
<p>Her lids lowered a fraction, brows falling with them, “You pulled one last night. And two evenings ago, as well.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I did.”</p>
<p>“... You don't see what the problem is with that?”</p>
<p>His right fingers subtly flinched for a moment, “Apparently not.”</p>
<p>An acidic bubble started to boil in Kohaku's stomach. She wasn't sure if he was truly unaware of the issue she was bringing up, or if he was purposefully acting ignorant, but either way the annoyance was building up into a stronger upset. Ocean orbs darkened as the storm in them began to brew, “Don't you remember what happened the last time you pushed yourself like this?”</p>
<p>He nodded, “Yes, of course.”</p>
<p>“Then why are you placing yourself at the risk of that happening again?”</p>
<p>The moment the question left her mouth, she felt a mixture of regret and relief. The relief came from the knowledge that it was only the two of them in the room; Chrome and Gen had not returned to the observatory to sleep, the two having a conversation outside about something or another although she couldn't hear the exact words and only their voices in general, although it would only be a matter of time before they would return, finally worn out themselves from the day. The regret was coming from the unwavering gaze he kept upon her. She couldn't tell at all what he was thinking, something that wasn't entirely out of the norm – Senku has always been an enigma – but it was more unsettling than usual. Was he thinking of an answer? Was he mentally admonishing her? Would he make a comment asking if she was falling in love with him? If that happened, she did not want to have that conversation, not yet anyway.</p>
<p>That last thought didn't come to his mind at all. What was going through his mind, however, was thoughts about her question. The question was said in a tone that was, as he already observed, annoyed, but there was the underlying vibration of worry and concern within it as well. Kohaku was concerned about his well-being, not wanting him to relapse, not wanting to dredge up those feelings of helplessness and pain again. Her eyes showed a glimmer of those feelings, as well as a silent plea for him to understand. She didn't want to see him like that again, and so she wanted him to understand, to listen, to stop.</p>
<p>He sighed, brushing back his bangs from his face, “It wasn't my intention to do so.”</p>
<p>Her lips curled into a deeper frown, her body tightening up, an additional wave of anger shooting up her spine. That wave was not lost on him, however.</p>
<p>“You know I have a lot of work to figure out.”</p>
<p>“I'm aware. That's not an excuse.”</p>
<p>“I'm not saying that it is.”</p>
<p>“It seems like you're trying to use it as one.”</p>
<p>He couldn't deny the bit of truth in that observation. Her teeth gritted against one another.</p>
<p>“You know how terrible that was for you, Senku. For all of us.”</p>
<p>“I'm aware.”</p>
<p>“Are you?”</p>
<p>She was getting increasingly angry, and he was feeling increasingly guilty. There was a lingering “for me” in the air, but it went unsaid. It didn't need to be said. He knew.</p>
<p>“Yes, I am.”</p>
<p>“Then why?”</p>
<p>“... I have a lot of work to do.”</p>
<p>Her hands clenched into fists against her arms, and she was shaking. She didn't raise her voice, not wanting their conversation to be heard by those awake below, but she was clearly no longer holding back her anger. He could see it, he could hear it, and he wanted to look away from her, but couldn't. Not that she would allow him to look away. She would force him to look at her, force him to listen to her. And she was justified, he knew that.</p>
<p>She stood up sharply, taking one step then a second towards him. He wasn't sure what she was going to do, and he braced himself for her approach. She stopped right in front of his, her towering and limber form casting a dark shadow over him for a moment, their eyes meeting one another before she knelt down beside him, gathering up his skins and charcoals into rolls.</p>
<p>“What are you doing?” he questioned her, his voice an octave higher than a whisper, worried that she would disturb his calculations and road maps, although she was more than careful with them given her state of anger.</p>
<p>She didn't speak a word to him, taking the rolled works and placing them on a shelf near one of the walls. Senku stood at that moment, moving a step towards her, becoming still when she turned around towards him, moving within an inch of his form, his lips agape by a centimeter or two. There was a flurry of emotions, not just anger, in the ocean now. Candlelight flickered with scarlet, showing the confusion and uncertainty in its vibrant color.</p>
<p>She reached out for his arm, grasping at his wrist with a tight grip, using force to bring him down with her. An unregistered noise came from his mouth as his body moved with her pull, her strong arms wrapping themselves around his upper torso, bringing him down with her to lay upon the floor, a sharp heat and deep blush burning his cheeks as he realized that his face was squarely aligned with her chest. He coughed, making a blubbering amount of gasps and groans as he fought against her hold, ignoring how his own heart was beating fast at all that was happening. Finally he broke through enough to pull back and face her directly, his hands hovering over her upper arms after he used them as his brace, although her arms were still upon and around him, keeping him from pulling back any further than what he had already done.</p>
<p>“What the hell are you doing, Kohaku!?” he yelled, no longer in control of his usual stoic front, his face still bright from the embarrassing position he was in.</p>
<p>“Go to sleep, Senku.”</p>
<p>He stopped struggling against her, his brows furrowing as he looked at her deadpanned, “What?”</p>
<p>The anger was subsiding, replaced largely with determination, her lips curled into a feline grin. She was trying to force his compliance, but the smile was also a mechanism to set a lighter mood. There was also a bit of her own embarrassment in the reaction, trying not to let it show that she was also momentarily bothered by the feel of his stilted breath against her skin, but that was the least of her concerns.</p>
<p>He could see the storm calming in her eyes, but he wasn't so easily settled. He was not comfortable with this amount of physical contact and closeness. Although it was more due to the sudden capture; she was doing what he had done to her before, pulling her to sleep beside him the morning after the worst had past. However, whereas she could've easily fought him on it, he could not do so as easily. Her strength was leaps and bounds higher than his own, and he knew that, if he were to attempt to fight any further than he already had, she would either increase her hold or it would land them in a more awkward position. The latter was something he certainly didn't want.</p>
<p>He groaned, struggling against her grip, trying to put a little space between the two of them. She did allow for some give in her hold, but it didn't allow him to scurry away entirely. Their gazes remained upon one another, until Kohaku sighed and closed her eyes, that smile still upon her lips. He sighed loudly, “This isn't necessary.”</p>
<p>“Would you have gone to sleep if I didn't do this?”</p>
<p>“... Likely not.”</p>
<p>“Then yes, it's necessary.”</p>
<p>He groaned again and she chuckled, before opening her eyes and staring back him as seriously as she could. “I don't want to see you like that again, Senku. I can't take that,” she spoke, her voice cracked as she pled her case, “It scares me, the idea of seeing you like that again.”</p>
<p>He could see a watery glaze over her ocean eyes, and that churned his stomach. He hated to see those hints of tears, and over him no less. He hated the idea of being the one responsible for her crying. He sighed, grabbing her upper arms and running them down the length of her appendages, resting on her elbows and gently making the motion to coax her to move her arms back, trying to make it clear to her that he wasn't going to go anywhere else, his hands eventually making their way towards her wrists before finally letting her go.</p>
<p>“I got the message, Kohaku. Ten billion percent.”</p>
<p>Although he was playfully and traditionally smirking at her, Kohaku knew he was sincere in his words, and she smiled as relief filled her chest, so glad that he was listening and understanding her. He turned around to lay upon his back, arms going behind his head, sighing before he closed his eyes, trying to relax enough to go to sleep. He had thought of blowing out the candles, but allowed it to stay, knowing that at some point Gen and Chrome would return to sleep and they could blow them out after they were settled.</p>
<p>Kohaku watched him for a few moments, smiling as she watched as he relaxed and drifted off. She yawned, covering her mouth as she did, before moving closer towards Senku's side, curling herself up against him, her head laying upon his left shoulder. He opened one eye to glance down at her, meeting her playful gaze for a moment, before blushing and clearing his throat. After all of this, would he dare fight her cuddling up to him like a cat? Another sigh came from his lips as she adjusted her form, the tips of her hair brushing his cheek as she turned her head to a more comfortable laying position, her arms curled between his side and her chest, her knees bent inward into a lukewarm fetal position. She seemed to fall asleep rather quickly – how she could was beyond his understanding – seemingly content with being so close to him.</p>
<p>Senku hoped he'd be sound asleep before Gen or Chrome returned; he didn't want to deal with any sort of commentary from them in relation to this. At least not tonight. Although he knew he wouldn't be able to escape it come the dawn.</p>
<p>… And dawn did come, as it always did. Senku awoke to the sunlight and sounds of the birds outside. He let out a short, groggy moan, sitting up and stretching out his arms and upper torso before trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. The candles had long since been burned out, and while there were signs that others had come to roost in the observatory to sleep, Gen and Chrome were nowhere to be found, likely already awake and down below eating something for their breakfast.</p>
<p>He yawned, placing a hand behind his neck and moving it around to stretch it out as well. Sleeping on the floor in the way he did was not the most comfortable of positions, but at least he did feel sufficiently rested, and that was more important. That was what Kohaku fought so hard for last night, and she should be happy to hear that once she woke up herself.</p>
<p>Speaking of Kohaku... he turned his attention towards his side. Kohaku was no longer curled up so tightly against him as she was last night, although she didn't stray far from his side. She was more stretched out now, still on her side that was facing him, laying with one arm crooked and tucked in close to her with her head laying upon her hand, the other lazily bent over her waist, fingers curled into a loose fist against the wood floor. The knot in her rope hair tie had shifted and loosened a bit in her sleep, the petals of her hair appearing a bit more haphazard than usual. She still seemed totally dead to the world, not making any sort of noise or motion that she would soon be stirring now that Senku had started to wake up, the quietest of snores emitting from her lips signaling her deep slumber.</p>
<p>Senku chuckled; something about her sleeping form struck him as being kind of cute, although he won't dare admit that aloud. Although, the mere fact that he would think of her as cute in any sort of way told  him how much his internal feelings were shifting towards her.</p>
<p>His smile faded as he continued to watch Kohaku slumber. Those thoughts he has had since the bout with fever crept back into his consciousness, those heavy feelings that he had never felt for someone else before. He laid back down, turning his body to face her, propping his head up on one hand and bent elbow, watching as her upper body moved softly with each breath she took. He thought about how she slept that morning too, just like this. Just as quiet and calming as she was now. Then came the vision of Gen's smile and his words, along with the disdained twist in his stomach, followed by that burning pain in his chest.</p>
<p>It was illogical, this pain. He shouldn't feel this level of desire for someone, this level of wanting to be the only one to see her sleeping state like this. But yet he did, and the fact that someone else could potentially show this same amount of desire in his lioness made his-- Senku groaned inwardly at the possessive statement. When did it get so bad that he would resort to inner monologues claiming her like this? She belonged to no one, and he had no idea if Kohaku had any sort of feelings towards him that would even justify trying to quantify their relationship any further than friends and allies, nor did he want to pursue that topic.</p>
<p>Still, as he gazed upon her sleeping face, he couldn't help but reach out towards her, brushing back the wisps of her blonde locks from her face, tucking it behind her ear with a faint brush against her skin. Her nose wrinkled slightly in reaction to the touch, but she didn't stir more than another cuddle into her own hand. Perhaps one day he would pursue the subject, to see if she did hold something more for him like what he was starting to feel, but for now... for now, having this moment was enough. Having her by his side was enough.</p>
<p>Pulling his hand back, Senku turned his attention towards the outside. It was early, but if Chrome and Gen were both awake, he knew that he needed to get started on his day as well. Soon they would be joined by the others in the village, and things would start to become noisy. He debated on whether he should wake Kohaku up or allow for her to awaken by the noise, but couldn't quite convince himself to wake her up quite yet, so he allowed her to rest for a little while longer. He began to sit back up, ready to stand and gather his materials from last night, trying to think about where he left off.</p>
<p>“Mmm... don't go yet...” came a sleepy whimper, followed by a weak grasp at his lab coat.</p>
<p>He looked down at her, seeing a hint of blue behind a haze of long lashes, her lips turned into the sleepiest smile he's ever seen. He sighed, smiling at her with a gentle shake of his head, laying back down for a second time as she brought herself closer to him, curling up against his body with her eyes shutting close again. “You're pushing your luck, lioness,” he muttered to her, and she just hummed against his chest, nuzzling her face against him as she got comfortable once again.</p>
<p>He chuckled, and Kohaku smiled, settling herself back into a sweet slumber as she listened to Senku's heartbeat. His arms wrapped gingerly around her, resting his chin upon the top of her head, ignoring the little tickles of her hairs against his face, closing his eyes and finding sleep again. He knew that this was out of his character, and he blamed it on his illogical side taking control of his mind in his tired state, and if someone came across them in this position, he would certainly regret it and all of the conversation there after, but there was that little part of him that didn't care about all of that, enjoying the warmth of her next to him and the curl of her fingers into his clothes.</p>
<p>As they both fell back into their sleep pattern, Gen made his way up the ladder to check in on them, curious if either of them was awake yet, smirking and laughing to himself before turning to look back down at Chrome with a shake of his head. Chrome rolled his eyes, but also held a knowing smile upon his face. Despite what the two sleeping minds had thought, they weren't as subtle as they believed they were, the change in their feelings a bit more obvious than they had led on. However, they weren't about to share this secret knowledge with anyone else, for the sake of their own safety – who knew what vindictive sort of actions would befall them in an attempt to deny whatever they would say – but also not wishing to ruin whatever sparks could be there between them.</p>
<p>If anything, it was more entertaining that they had this secret between them, for once knowing something that Senku did not. That, in and of itself, was way more exciting.</p>
<p>
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    <strong>-end-</strong>
  </i>
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